KALABURAGI: About 10 per cent of children enrolled in anganawadis of Kalaburagi district have been found to be malnourished. A team of doctors and officials of the Women and Child Welfare Department visited 3,098 anganawadis in the district in December and examined the weight and health of 75,104 children (out of the total 2,20,443) aged up to six years present during the inspection.
Official sources said on Wednesday that 6,832 of them were found moderately malnourished and 206 severely malnourished. As many as 180 severely underweight children were treated by paediatricians at community healthcare centres and government hospitals and 26 malnourished ones at Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres, following recommendations of the officials.
Kalaburagi Urban taluk accounted for the highest number of moderately malnourished children — 2,435. Eighty-one children in the taluk were found severely malnourished. It was followed by Aland taluk with 917 moderately undernourished and four severely malnourished children.
Afzalpur accounted for 849 moderately malnourished children (and 41 severely malnourished), Kalaburagi Rural 746 (six severely malnourished), Jewargi 608 (20 severely malnourished), Sedam 550 (eight severely malnourished), Chittapur 417 (36 severely malnourished) and Chincholi 310 (10 severely malnourished).
Poverty and illiteracy are the major factors for the malnourishment of children, HoD of paediatrics at GIMS, Dr Sandeep Patil said.
Dr Sandeep Patil told The New Indian Express that malnourishment of children starts right from the womb. After the breastfeeding period of six months, the child has to be given nutritious food, but poverty and illiteracy of parents come in the way, he said. Proper implementation of women and child welfare programmes and their monitoring could help check the problem, he said. On the positive note, Dr Patil said malnourishment rate is on the decline.